Methods, mediums, and systems for building and executing a chromatography workflow

Abstract

Exemplary embodiments provide methods, mediums, and systems for building and executing a chromatography workflow. According to the techniques described herein, the steps of the workflow may be arranged into an order and separated by gates and/or transitions. The transitions may represent locations in the workflow where responsibility or stewardship of the data in the workflow passes from one user to a different user. The steps may be represented as pages, with at least some of the steps represented by multiple different pages representing different customization options for visualizations, a configuration of the step, etc. By selecting pages for the various steps and connecting at least some of the steps with transitions, a user can build a workflow very quickly and efficiently. The resulting workflow supports improved auditing, enforces access rights, and improves workflow visualization, among other advantages.

1 . A method comprising:
 receiving an instruction to generate a workflow for analyzing results of a chromatography experiment, wherein:
 the workflow comprises a plurality of steps, 
 each step is associated with one or more pages, and 
 each page represents a variation of the step; 
   receiving a selection, via a user interface, of a step to be edited;   receiving a selection, via the user interface, of a page for the selected step; and   adding a transition to the workflow, the transition representing a change in data custody from a current step of the plurality of steps to a next step of the plurality of steps, wherein the current step is configured to be performed by a first user and the next step is configured to be performed by a second user different from the first user.   
     
     
         2 . (canceled) 
     
     
         3 . (canceled) 
     
     
         4 . (canceled) 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising executing the workflow, the executing comprising:
 identifying the first user who performed the current step;   logging the first user in an audit log;   arriving at the transition;   identifying the second user responsible for performing the second step;   handing off control of the workflow from the first user to the second user; and   logging the second user in the audit log.   
     
     
         6 . (canceled) 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein:
 a first subset of the plurality of steps are associated with a processing template, the processing template defining one or more customizable pages of visualizations for each step; and   a second subset of the plurality of steps are associated with a review template, the review template specifying one or more actions to be taken by a reviewer of data generated by the first subset of the plurality of steps.   
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein at least one of the pages is associated with a visualization element configured to display data associated with a step corresponding to the page on a user interface, and further comprising receiving a configuration for the visualization element that controls how the visualization element displays the data wherein receiving the configuration comprises:
 identifying a plurality of predefined display formats associated with the page; and   receiving a selection of one of the predefined display formats.   
     
     
         9 . (canceled) 
     
     
         10 . (canceled) 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising executing the workflow, the executing comprising:
 receiving an instruction to move from one of the plurality of steps to another of the plurality of steps in the workflow;   logging the movement in an audit log.   
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the another of the plurality of steps precedes the one of the plurality of steps in the workflow, and further comprising:
 prompting a user who initiated the movement to enter a reason for returning to the another one of the plurality of steps; and   logging the reason in the audit log.   
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the user makes a change to a setting at the another one of the plurality of steps, and further comprising:
 prompting the user who initiated the movement to enter a reason for changing the setting; and   logging the reason in the audit log.   
     
     
         14 . A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, the computer-readable storage medium including instructions that when executed by a computer, cause the computer to:
 receive an instruction to generate a workflow for analyzing results of a chromatography experiment, wherein:
 the workflow comprises a plurality of steps, 
 each step is associated with one or more pages, and 
 each page represents a variation of the step; 
   receive a selection, via a user interface, of a step to be edited;   receive a selection, via the user interface, of a page for the selected step; and   add a transition to the workflow, the transition representing a change in data custody from a current step of the plurality of steps to a next step of the plurality of steps, wherein the current step is configured to be performed by a first user and the next step is configured to be performed by a second user different from the first user.   
     
     
         15 . (canceled) 
     
     
         16 . (canceled) 
     
     
         17 . (canceled) 
     
     
         18 . The computer-readable storage medium of  claim 14 , wherein the instructions further configure the computer to execute the workflow, the executing comprising:
 identify the first user who performed the current step;   log the first user in an audit log;   arrive at the transition;   identify the second user responsible for performing the second step;   hand off control of the workflow from the first user to the second user; and   log the second user in the audit log.   
     
     
         19 . (canceled) 
     
     
         20 . The computer-readable storage medium of  claim 14 , wherein:
 a first subset of the plurality of steps are associated with a processing template, the processing template define one or more customizable pages of visualizations for each step; and   a second subset of the plurality of steps are associated with a review template, the review template specify one or more actions to be taken by a reviewer of data generated by the first subset of the plurality of steps.   
     
     
         21 . The computer-readable storage medium of  claim 14 , wherein at least one of the pages is associated with a visualization element configured to display data associated with a step corresponding to the page on a user interface, and wherein the instructions further configure the computer to receive a configuration for the visualization element that controls how the visualization element displays the data, wherein receiving the configuration comprises:
 identify a plurality of predefined display formats associated with the page; and receive a selection of one of the predefined display formats.   
     
     
         22 . (canceled) 
     
     
         23 . (canceled) 
     
     
         24 . The computer-readable storage medium of  claim 14 , wherein the instructions further configure the computer to execute the workflow, the executing comprising:
 receive an instruction to move from one of the plurality of steps to another of the plurality of steps in the workflow;   log the movement in an audit log.   
     
     
         25 . The computer-readable storage medium of  claim 24 , wherein the another of the plurality of steps precedes the one of the plurality of steps in the workflow, and wherein the instructions further configure the computer to:
 prompt a user who initiated the movement to enter a reason for returning to the another one of the plurality of steps; and   log the reason in the audit log.   
     
     
         26 . The computer-readable storage medium of  claim 24 , wherein the user makes a change to a setting at the another one of the plurality of steps, and wherein the instructions further configure the computer to:
 prompt the user who initiated the movement to enter a reason for changing the setting; and   log the reason in the audit log.   
     
     
         27 . A computing apparatus comprising:
 a processor; and   a memory storing instructions that, when executed by the processor, configure the apparatus to:
 receive an instruction to generate a workflow for analyzing results of a chromatography experiment, wherein:
 the workflow comprises a plurality of steps, 
 each step is associated with one or more pages, and 
 each page represents a variation of the step; 
 
 receive a selection, via a user interface, of a step to be edited; 
 receive a selection, via the user interface, of a page for the selected step; and 
 add a transition to the workflow, the transition representing a change in data custody from a current step of the plurality of steps to a next step of the plurality of steps, wherein the current step is configured to be performed by a first user and the next step is configured to be performed by a second user different from the first user. 
   
     
     
         28 . (canceled) 
     
     
         29 . (canceled) 
     
     
         30 . (canceled) 
     
     
         31 . The computing apparatus of  claim 27 , wherein the instructions further configure the apparatus to execute the workflow, the executing comprising:
 identify the first user who performed the current step;   log the first user in an audit log;   arrive at the transition;   identify the second user responsible for performing the second step;   hand off control of the workflow from the first user to the second user; and   log the second user in the audit log.   
     
     
         32 . (canceled) 
     
     
         33 . The computing apparatus of  claim 27 , wherein:
 a first subset of the plurality of steps are associated with a processing template, the processing template define one or more customizable pages of visualizations for each step; and   a second subset of the plurality of steps are associated with a review template, the review template specify one or more actions to be taken by a reviewer of data generated by the first subset of the plurality of steps.   
     
     
         34 . The computing apparatus of  claim 27 , wherein at least one of the pages is associated with a visualization element configured to display data associated with a step corresponding to the page on a user interface, and wherein the instructions further configure the apparatus to receive a configuration for the visualization element that controls how the visualization element displays the data, wherein receiving the configuration comprises:
 identify a plurality of predefined display formats associated with the page; and   receive a selection of one of the predefined display formats.   
     
     
         35 . (canceled) 
     
     
         36 . (canceled) 
     
     
         37 . The computing apparatus of  claim 27 , wherein the instructions further configure the apparatus to execute the workflow, the executing comprising:
 receive an instruction to move from one of the plurality of steps to another of the plurality of steps in the workflow;   log the movement in an audit log.   
     
     
         38 . The computing apparatus of  claim 37 , wherein the another of the plurality of steps precedes the one of the plurality of steps in the workflow, and wherein the instructions further configure the apparatus to:
 prompt a user who initiated the movement to enter a reason for returning to the another one of the plurality of steps; and   log the reason in the audit log, or wherein the user makes a change to a setting at the another one of the plurality of steps, and wherein the instructions further configure the apparatus to:   prompt the user who initiated the movement to enter a reason for changing the setting; and   log the reason in the audit log.   
     
     
         39 . (canceled)